


Too Much

by DestroyedConscience



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kofi’s a good bro, M/M, Pre-Slash or Gen you can pick tbh, Self-Projection? Kinda. Probably. Maybe. Yes., vent fic tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 14:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18625210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DestroyedConscience/pseuds/DestroyedConscience
Summary: He didn’t even know what had caused this, to be honest. Usually there was a reason when it got this bad, this unmanageable but he couldn’t think of a plausible reason.





	Too Much

**Author's Note:**

> first wwe fic boyyy. and of course it’s a vent fic lmao. So on brand for me. i was having a pretty bad time with my good old pal anxiety so obviously i spent an hour writing about xavier having the same bad time. comfort characters, gotta love’em. but yeah, i remembered austin saying on one of his earlier UUDD vids that he suffers from anxiety problems so he uses fidget stuff like fidget spinners, so i was like “hmm. what if i just,,, make xavier have those issues too because i already project and relate a lot, why not do it more?” so yeah. this is the result. enjoy i guess lol, it’s pointless but!! idc sksksk

The sound of Xavier’s feet hitting the floor seemed to drown out any noise the crowd was making outside. 

_ Tap, tap, tap.  _

His legs bounced incessantly, and it seemed the more he tried to get control over them, the more they shook and bounced as a result. He gave up as a result, the feeling of others staring at him because of the noise he was causing making his palms sweat and ending up too much to bear. 

_ Too much, too much,  _ **_too much_ ** _.  _

Everything was so loud but so quiet at the same time, as though he was hearing it but not registering it. He would rest his head in his hands but to do so he’d have to put his elbows on his knees, and he’d rather not jostle his head around with how they’re still bouncing. Instead, he settled for simply ducking his head, hoping that his hair could help to obscure his face from view. 

His nails dug into his palms as he tried to stop the shaking, gnawing on his lip as he tried to just  _ calm down _ . 

It wasn’t working. 

He didn’t even know what had caused this, to be honest. Usually there was a reason when it got this bad, this unmanageable but he couldn’t think of a plausible reason. 

There was a big crowd today, but there always was, and he and Kofi had gotten through their segment without a hitch already. The locker room was more crowded than usual, but everyone had mainly kept to themselves, and if they weren’t they were simply joking around with each other, no ill intent in their words or actions. He was alone right now, but he’s usually able to handle when he doesn’t have his friends around. 

There didn’t seem to be anything wrong, he knew that logically.

But then why did everything  _ feel _ wrong?

He clenched his fists tighter as he thought, mind slowly starting to race, struggling to keep his breathing quiet and not noticeably uneven. The last thing he wanted was for anyone in the locker room to notice, they already were throwing glances his way due to how he was sitting, feet tapping, head down. 

Their gazes burned. 

Xavier couldn’t stop his eyes from darting up when the sound of the locker room door opening broke through the conversations and noise. 

Eyes straining to see through his hair, which he had taken out of its band, he saw the familiar clash of colours that was one of his teammates. The shoes made him realise it was Kofi. Of course, E wasn’t here, still recovering from his injury. How did he forget that?The rest of the locker room greeted Kofi as he entered, but otherwise didn’t bother him. 

He stopped at the door, probably scanning the room for Xavier, but the smaller male couldn’t force himself to look up at the moment, his spirally thoughts taking top priority in his mind, the feeling of anxiety and nerves making his skin crawl and his mind fuzzy. 

Kofi saw him, immediately knowing from how Xavier was sitting that something was wrong. Xavier had told him and E from the near beginning of their friendship that he had anxiety problems, so it wasn’t that he was completely lost on what could have been wrong. 

Xavier saw Kofi’s shoes in front of him before he saw the rest of him, still having not lifted his head up. The thought of Kofi seeing him like this made him queasy. The other man had seen him when his anxiety acted up before, but it was never an episode like this, where he was bordering on a panic attack, sweating more than he usually did in their matches, mind racing to the point of his thoughts being unintelligible, only able to get across a sense of dread and fear.

“Woods,” Kofi’s voice was low, obviously not wanting to draw attention from anyone else in the locker room “You good?”

Xavier’s legs started bouncing faster at the question, breath hitching. Squeezing his eyes shut, he shook his head minutely. He jumped slightly at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder but it didn’t pull back, he eventually relaxed under it and Kofi spoke again. 

“C’mon, let’s go somewhere else. Being here probably ain’t helping.” He didn’t wait for any verbal cues from Xavier, but kept an eye out for any signs he didn’t want to leave the locker room. When he saw none, he tugged at his arm slightly, coaxing him up on shaky legs. 

Xavier allowed himself to be moved out of the room, most of the superstars not paying them any mind, too caught up in their own conversations or phone calls to notice them.

The hallways grew quieter the further they went, winding through them like a maze, taking turns left and right. Xavier didn’t pay attention to where they were going, just allowed Kofi to keep a grip on his arm, effectively steering him towards their destination. 

He was grateful for the quiet as Kofi eventually stopped them in front of a case, gently nudging him till he sat down on it, fingers drumming incessantly against the side. 

He tried to keep his gaze focused on the wall as Kofi sat beside him, leaving a few inches of space between them. Xavier expected him to speak up, try and get him to talk about what was bothering him - although he highly doubted he would be successful. Instead, Kofi merely sat with him, not touching him, not looking at him, just sitting; his presence helping to ground Xavier as he focused more so on the sound of Kofi’s (purposefully exaggerated, he would realise as he looks back) breathing and matching it with his own. 

When Xavier’s heartbeat had stilled, breathing had steadied and his hands had stopped shaking, Kofi spoke up, voice cutting through the silence. 

“You wanna tell me what got you so messed up?” Xavier looked over at him, feeling extremely tired now that his body was winding down from the adrenaline that had been fuelling it only moments prior. 

“I dunno,” He mumbled eventually, averting his eyes to once again stare at the wall across from them “Just happened.”

Kofi didn’t seem particularly annoyed at Xavier’s clipped sentences, rolling with them as he inched his way closer to the other man. They still weren’t touching, but Kofi was significantly nearer now. 

Xavier could feel his body heat. 

“That’s fine,” The taller man stated, as though it was just fact. His next sentences came out more halted, as though he were suddenly unsure of whether he was handling the situation correctly “You mentioned you get like this sometimes, so it’s not like you have to hide it or anything but… I’m not really sure what I’m meant to do for you now.”

His hesitance of doing the wrong thing was both endearing and slightly irritating - although Xavier knew the latter was likely just due to the jitters still lingering in his body. The other man managed to get a snort out of him, at least. 

“Just… don’t treat me any different than you did before this, okay?”

Kofi face screwed up in confusion “Well, duh,” It was his turn to snort “Obviously I ain’t gonna do that, dude. I just meant like, do you need anything right now? I read somewhere you’re supposed have water but I think that might be only if you were crying…”

Xavier felt himself really smile for the first time in the past hour or so “Nah, I don’t need any water,” He shook his head, before the grin slowly melted from his face, a look of uncertainty over taking it. “But…”

Kofi looked at him, concerned at the sudden mood change, no doubt. “But?” He dragged the question out, imploring him to continue after Xavier didn’t seem like he was going to finish his sentence. 

“I… A hug, would be really nice, I think…”

Kofi stared at him and for a moment Xavier worried he had said something wrong. They hugged all the time, but the act of asking verbally for a hug felt strange, intimate. He didn’t know how it made him feel. 

The blank look slipped away, though. A smile slowly replacing it before Xavier was pulled into a hug.

Any shaking leftover was gone. 


End file.
